Spring Carpet Cleaning

SPRING CARPET CLEANING

Spring is here. Start freshening up the house with a good, thorough carpet cleaning. Save time and money by cleaning your own carpets. Genesis 950 makes DIY carpet cleaning easy. Remove dirt, dust, dander and bacteria that has been building up over the winter months. 

Genesis 950 is the best cleaning product for everything from carpets to tile. Genesis 950 cleans different than traditional cleaning products. Instead of using harsh chemicals, it gets the work done using water. When combined with water, Genesis makes stains water soluble. When stains become water soluble, they lose adherence and  lift from the surface they have adhered to.

GENESIS 950 IN CARPET CLEANING MACHINES

When Genesis 950 is used in a carpet cleaning machine, the results are amazing. Not only does Genesis 950 remove the dirt, grime and stains, it also leaves your carpet smelling clean and feeling soft. Genesis 950 can be used in any carpet cleaning machine. 

How Much Genesis 950 Should I Use?

Sold as a concentrate, Genesis 950 lets you use how much you need based on the job. The type of carpet cleaning machine will also help you determine how much to use. 

Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro

Common household carpet cleaning machines look similar to an upright vacuum cleaner. Typically, these machines have 2 compartments for cleaning. One compartment is for clean water and the other compartment for solution. These machines pull fluid from both the water and solution compartment at the same time. A dial on the machine determines how much solution will be used. With these machines, simply select the setting based on your cleaning need. For a general cleaning, select "Low." For heavy traffic or pet stains, select "High." The machine mixes the solution and water for you.

Other machines, typically rental type carpet cleaner

Rug Doctor Might Pro

machines or more industrial machines have one large tank where the water and solution are mixed together. With these tanks, the user has a greater ability to use exactly how much they would like. With these machine types, fill the machine up based on your cleaning need.  If you are performing a general carpet cleaning, use 1 part Genesis 950 to 7 parts water. For pet stains and food stains, a 1/3 Genesis 950 to 2/3 water mix can be used. If the carpet is obnoxious and filthy or the odors are overwhelming, you can go as high as a 50/50 mix.

Once you have your machine filled accordingly, begin cleaning by slowly going over the carpet. Begin cleaning by slowly going over the carpet. Allow the mixture of solution and water to thoroughly saturate the carpet. After the carpet has been thoroughly cleaned, allow it to sit.

Common Carpet Cleaning Questions

What temperature water should I use?
Lukewarm water is recommended, although cold water will work as well. DO NOT use hot water. Hot water may cause the adhesive holding your carpet in place to melt.

What if my machine sucks up the solution as it cleans?

This is not a problem as these machines leave enough solution behind that it will still work to break down carpet stains and odors. 

As the solution sits in the carpet it will work to break down dirt, dust, grime, dander and stains. It will also work to break down any soap based residue left behind by cleaning products that have been used in the past. Like the cleaning ratios, the time left to sit will vary based on what you are cleaning. For a general cleaning, you can even start rinsing right away. The worse the stains are, the longer the solution should sit. For pet stains, we recommend 45 minutes to an hour. In some cases customers have let it sit overnight. As you begin to use the product, you will become better at understanding how it works.

Once the time has elapsed, fill your carpet cleaning machine up with ONLY fresh water. If your machine is the type with 2 compartments, these machines generally have a "Rinse" cycle and will only draw fluid from the water tank. If your machine has 1 tank, simply fill that tank with water. 

Slowly go over the carpet with your machine. You will see the return water come back black or murky. Continue to rinse until the water comes back clear. In cases where you see a lot of suds or foaming, this is not from the Genesis 950, but rather from the breakdown of residue left behind from past cleaners. If your carpet has not been cleaned for sometime, you may have to go over some areas several times to get the water to come back clear.

After you have rinsed the carpet, it is important to allow the carpet to dry. While excess moisture in the padding may promote bacteria or mold growth, the Genesis 950 fights that with it's antibacterial agents and actually prevents such growth. However, thoroughly drying the carpet is recommended. If weather permits and humidity levels are low, open windows to help the process. Fans and dehumidifiers can also be used to speed up the drying process.

Remove Pet Stains With Genesis 950

The same carpet cleaning guidelines listed above can be used to remove pet stains. Genesis 950 is the best pet stain remover for everything from pet stains on furniture to pet odors in carpet. There are countless products on the market for pet stain removal, however anyone with a pet probably has a whole cabinet of things they tried but had no luck with. Save your money and use a cleaner that works! However be weary of saving all your money. There are several DIY pet stain remover recipes online and unfortunately, they include several household items you should NEVER use in your carpet.

• Vinegar & ammonia - Hands down the WORST things you can use to clean pet stains. People who want a green pet stain remover tend to lean towards homemade recipes featuring these items. They are inexpensive, and typically easy to find in the home. However, the acidic
  
  properties have some of the same elements found in the acidic base of urine. This causes a problem because the odor released from vinegar & ammonia have of the same properties found in urine. Animals urinate in areas where they smell urine. Take note when your dog sniffs out a spot, or your cat is drawn to the litter box. This is not from training, this is from instinct. , Ammonia and/or vinegar can serve as an open invitation for your pet to sniff out the spot where you cleaned with either of the products. Once that spot has been found, your pet will likely go there deliberately. Pet owners who use either of these often find themselves confused and perplexed when their pet keeps going in the same spot no matter how many times they clean the area. They go in that spot because the odor of the vinegar and ammonia do not remove the urine odor. Instead, vinegar and ammonia enhance the area and your pet will keep going there until it has been thoroughly cleaned from the carpet. 

• Enzymes - Enzymes line the aisles of pet stores. They are often hailed as the go to miracle cleaner for pet stains. This couldn't be further from the truth. Enzymes work on a principal that when two specific substances come in contact with each other, there will be a natural reaction in which one breaks the other down. It sounds simple enough, release the enzymes into the urine and they break down naturally. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Enzymes are very complex. It takes specific factors to make an enzyme work. The process is often explained in comparison to using a lock and key. There can be a thousand keys and one lock. For the lock to be activated, the correct key needs to be used. All the other keys can be put to the lock, but if there is not a 100% match,there will be no reaction. Enzymes can only break down an element if they have the biological capacity to do so. The DNA strands have to be a 100% match. In addition to the DNA matching, there are other factors in play: temperature, moisture, age and so on. If any of these factors are off, the enzyme can not work. To complicate the process even more, enzymes sold are sold in general mass production. They are not designed to react specifically to the pH levels of individual pet's urine, variables in pet's diets, health issues and other details that vary from one animal to another. One of the most common complaints about enzymes is that the stain typically reappears a few days later or the odor returns. This happens because enzymes do not have the strength to get deep into the padding. So, while the stain on the carpet may be removed, what is left behind below the surface can rise to become visible as temperature changes. They also can not kill the bacteria which creates the odor. Without proper deodorizing, the odor returns. 

• Household Cleaners - Another common ingredient in DIY Pet Stain removers are soap based items such as dishwashing detergent. While these type of cleaners
  
  perform well when removing stains from hard surfaces, they are not designed for carpet. They might lift light food or drink stains, but they do not have the power to properly clean pet stains. With pet odors, the issue comes from urine below the surface. Cleaning with a soap based cleaner does not remove odor from the padding. Soap used on the surface of carpet actually attracts dirt rather than break it down. In instances where a stain is "cleaned" but reappears a few days later, it is likely that a soap based cleaner had been used and the residue left behind pulls dirt to it over the course of a few days.

• Oxidizing Cleaners - These cleaners work using a process called oxidization. Many of them use Nirtic Acid (which is in fertilizer - do you really want that in your carpet?) to remove electrons in an effort to displace a stain. It's a little more of a complex process. The process used is not natural and very chemical based. Because of this type of cleaner is the most likely to damage carpet. Discoloration of carpet is a common effect when using oxidizing cleaners. The chemistry in the oxidizer can react to the carpet and turn it various colors. If after cleaning there is a pink or orange tint to the carpet, it is from oxidation. This type of discoloration can NOT be reversed. 

Here are some examples of Pet Stains Removed using Genesis 950:

This Spring, if you want your carpet cleaned the right way, be sure to give Genesis 950 a try. Genesis 950 is the best carpet cleaning solution for machines and spot cleaning. Remove everything from food spills to pet odors.